These musings on the Pomegranate are inspired by listener Beth Goodman’s question on Facebook.
Love Pomegranates! Aside from that intense ruby color which is so beguiling it’s the complexity of the sour sweetness (or is it the sweet sourness?) that becomes an addiction. Think about all the Sours that are out there: Citrus, Vinegars, Tamarind, Citric Acid, Amchur, Calamansi, etc. Well Pomegranate is basically a Sour that is also sweet, so anywhere you use a Sour you can substitute Pomegranate in one of it’s many forms. Experiment with using pomegranate juice, reduced juice w/a little sugar added to taste, Pomegranate Molasses or Concentrate. Each one has it’s own charms.
Any drink made with lemon or lime can be made with a pomegranate product. So, you make Lemonade? Made Pom-ade (not the hair gel kind). Or try using homemade lightly reduced and sweetened Pomegranate juice in a Mojito instead of lime or along with it. Really good. Lime and pomegranate have an affinity for one another.
The best savory use of the juice or concentrate of all time is the famous Persian stew, Fesenjan. Oh my, it’s lovely. Usually made with duck or chicken, Fesenjan is enriched with pulverized walnuts and pomegranate “paste”. Here is a recipe from Epicurious that’s adapted from my favorite Persian cookbook author Najmieh Batmanglij. If you’ve never cooked from Food of Life, you’re really missing something.
What do you like to do with Pomegranate?